Sports Briefs

PSU’s Brian Mantooth has been named the NCAA Division II men’s assistant coach of the year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The award was announced on Wednesday, May 28.
Mantooth, who is in his fifth year as a full-time coach at PSU, has helped the Gorilla throwers to a pair of All-America performances while guiding the track and field team to a fifth-place finish overall as a team at the 2014 national championship meet.
Bo Farrow, freshman biology major from Broken Arrow, Okla., placed third in the discus at nationals while Garrett Appier, sophomore physical education major from Paola, took fourth in the shot put. The two led a throws contingent that scored 63 of PSU’s team points at the 2014 MIAA Outdoor Championships, helping the Gorillas to a third straight conference title.
Mantooth has served as a part-time coach for eight season before joining the PSU staff in 2009. He’s coached 26 All-America performances from the men’s team and 25 All-America performances from the women’s team.
Mantooth, a native of Caney, was a three-time All-MIAA thrower during his college career at PSU and took conference titles in the hammer and weight throw in 2000.

Foss earns academic honors

Infielder Brandon Foss, senior in graphic communications from Lenexa, was named to the first-team Capital One Academic All-America team for the NCAA Division II baseball team on Thursday, May 29.
The senior recently graduated from PSU with a 3.97 grade-point-average.
It was the second consecutive year that Foss has earned first-team Capital One Academic All-America honors.
Foss started all 50 games, batting .331 with 15 doubles, two home runs and 29 RBI’s. Foss also scored 29 runs and carried a .973 fielding percentage while splitting time between first and third base for PSU.